Already four military governors have been appointed: one for Tennessee, one for South Carolina, one for North Carolina, and the other for Louisiana. So far as known, the appointment of each was by simple letter from the Secretary of War. But if this can be done in four States, where is the limit? It may be done in every Rebel State; and if not in every other State of the Union, it will be simply because the existence of a valid State government excludes the exercise of this extraordinary power. Assuming, that, as our arms prevail, it will be done in every Rebel State, we shall then have _eleven_ military governors, all deriving authority from one source, ruling a population amounting to upwards of nine millions. And this imperatorial dominion, indefinite in extent, will also be indefinite in duration; for, if, under the Constitution and laws, it be proper to constitute such governors, it is clear that they may be continued without regard to time,--for years, if you please, as well as for weeks; and the whole region they are called to sway will be a military empire, with all powers, executive, legislative, and even judicial, derived from one man in Washington. Talk of “the one-man power!” Here it is with a vengeance. Talk of military rule! Here it is, in the name of a republic. The bare statement of this case may put us on our guard. We may well hesitate to organize a single State under military government, when we see where such step leads. If you approve one, you must approve eleven, and the National Government may crystallize into military despotism. In appointing military governors of States, we follow an approved example in certain cases beyond the jurisdiction of the National Constitution,--as in California and Mexico, after their conquest, and before peace. It is evident that in these cases there was no constraint from the Constitution, and we were perfectly free to act according to the assumed exigency. It may be proper to set up military governors for a conquered country beyond our civil jurisdiction, and yet it may be questionable if we should undertake to set up such governors in States that we all claim to be within our civil jurisdiction. At all events, the two cases are different, so that it is not easy to argue from one to the other. In Jefferson’s Inaugural Address, where he develops what he calls “the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its administration,” he mentions “_the supremacy of the civil over the military authority_” as one of these “essential principles,” and then says:-- “These should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civil instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps, and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety.”[176]